Pieces
by Tainted Visions
Summary: PostDH. Severus finds himself back in Godric's Hollow, facing not only the woman whom he ever loved, but the choices and mistakes he made that brought about her death.


**Pieces**

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Author's Note: This is based on a video I made called "Pieces", and I immediately had to write a fic for it.

Summary: Post-DH. Severus finds himself back in Godric's Hollow, facing not only the woman whom he ever loved, but the choices and mistakes he made that brought about her death.

**"I come to you in pieces, so you can make me whole" - Pieces, Red.**

The first thing he knew was that he was alive. Well, as alive as anyone among the dead could be; he was not amongst the living, still on the plane of ground that was the earth, the world, that was existance; Yet, he was not completely immobile. He knew he lay upon something, something hard, therefore he must exist, must live somehow, even if it were beyond a mortal veil - if he were not, would he have the ability to feel, the ability to sense, to hear, to touch, and to smell? Did the dead continue to exist, even though existance was not what being dead _truly_ was?

He knew, as if he had known all along, that if he could feel the flat surface beneath him, and he could hear, hear a complete stillness, and feel a warmth like sunlight dawning down upon him, that he would be able to mamoth all of the other senses as well. In death, he had not died being blind - he had died being bitten, therefore he would have eyes, would be able to see upon opening them -

And then he did.

As he did, before they were completely opened, he realized he was surrounded in something, some sort of fog - or atleast that's what it appeared to be to him. And he realized, as his eyes stared upward, at nothing, at some blank, white eternal ceiling, with no roof to contain it, that he was not in the place in which he had died; no, that place could not be this beautiful - no other place was this beautiful - and it hit him quickly that he must, in fact, be dead. His senses must be lying to him. The living did not feel this great, did they not? Did she feel this way, happier and in less pain then the other world could ever provide? Did she, dead for so long, feel as though her life had not ended, but been reborn?

He sat up, and his hands rose gracefully to his neck, as though they had been programmed to do so. As his fingers felt around his throat, he realized, with a slight shock, that there was no wound; the snake bite must have eradicated, disappeared, when he came here, from the earth in which he had died. But where _was_ here? This beautiful, warm place, what was it? He had never been here before, or atleast, from what he could recall. The curiosity burned, and it grew, as he thought of her, and how she must have been for these many years. Was she here, too?

Before he could ponder more on this thought, a sudden, calm voice spoke out just behind him.

"Severus..."

Severus turned his head, facing the source who had spoken his name, and recieved a shock; There was Albus Dumbledore, smiling serenely at him, looking more alive and healthy and less like an old man than in the previous life. Severus stood, never removing his eyes from Dumbledore's. This had to be a dream, a hallucination of some sort, because how could Albus Dumbledore suddenly appear as though he had arranged this meeting from the moment he first appeared here? Severus fought over the strong lump in his throat, and croaked, "Albus..is it really you?"

"Oh yes!" The old man said cheerfully, "Yes, it is I, Severus. Were you expecting, perhaps, that I would not be Albus Dumbledore, but a Death Eater disguised, in polyjuice potion, pretending to be a dead old man?"

Severus sneered. "Obviously not, Dumbledore. Not even the Afterlife can taint the truth, as you know. If it did, I would have expected you to have asked me a series of quite, frankly, annoying questions to check if I am really Severus Snape, not an imposter?"

"Oh, no, my boy," Said Albus, his eyes twinkling, "You see, it would be harder for someone to impersonate you than I."

Severus raised an eyebrow, "And why is that?"

"I would not have recieved such a cheeky response from a fake Severus Snape."

Severus smirked; Apparently, Dumbledore never lost his sense of humor, however subtle it was. "You never cease to amaze me, Dumbledore."

"Oh, that was not my intention," Albus Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled again, "You see, I was simply stating the truth."

"Ha, ha," Severus replied with mirth, but unable to supress a small smile that turned out to look somewhat like a sardonic leer, "I wouldn't expect nothing less from you, Dumbledore. After all, you hid the truth from Potter. So I feel quite elated that you speak the truth to me."

At this, Severus was pleased to see, Albus lost his twinkle, and his expression suddenly became hard, stone, as his eyes fell to gaze at something below their feet, as though seeing something from miles away clearly. "He knows the truth now, Severus. He prepares to meet his end. He's only just viewed your memories."

"How do you know?"

"Why, my dear man, look below us."

Severus obligated, and no sooner had his eyes found a marble, stone floor, then did he see, though transparent, Harry Potter seemingly walking from Hogwarts Castle, into the grounds on which Severus himself had prowled many times before. He couldn't see the boy's expression, but by the way he was walking, Severus could see it was taking all of his strength, and self-control to do so. Without needing to see the boy's face, he felt a shiver down his spine, and knew how Potter must feel. Severus turned away from the scene, and without meeting Albus's eyes whispered, "It seems all I did was not in vain after all."

"No, it was not," Said Albus firmly, "Nor has Lily's sacrifice. You see, Severus, Lord Voldemort did much more that night three years ago then attempt to kill Harry once and for all."

Severus looked up into the startling blue eyes that had pierced him so many times before, "What do you mean?"

"He took Harry's blood, in a selfish manner, to reguritate himself. In short, he took Lily's sacrifice, which has resided in Harry for so long, and made it duplicate; Harry is now protected, by not only the blood that risides in his own veins, but the blood that flows inside his own enemy. Lord Voldemort himself has enabled that he cannot kill Harry, and once again, overestimates things he cannot understand."

"So...The Dark Lord has enabled that the boy stays alive? He cannot kill the boy? But you told me that Potter had to die! You said it was futile Potter recieve the memories that _I_ had, in order to do what he had to do, in order for him to set out to meet his death, so that the Dark Lord can truly be gone!"

"It was futile Harry recieve the memories," said Dumbledore, his eyes now closing, "Because it would allow him, as I have told you, Severus, to meet his end - but that does not mean he has to die. He has enabled his self-sacrifice, and that will make all the difference."

"Make all the difference? The Dark Lord has the Elder Wand! Potter's cannot possibly destroy it! Even if Potter does survive, he will have no chance of defeating the Dark Lord as long as he has the Elder Wand, Dumbledore!"

"Yes, it will make all the difference," said Dumbledore calmly, his eyes opening, "because the Elder Wand is still, and will never be, Lord Voldemort's. You see, Severus, you were never Master of the Elder Wand, as I had originally intended; Draco Malfoy is. Lord Voldemort will have to set out to kill him first, and that will never happen. Harry, having overpowered young Mr. Malfoy weeks ago, and attaining the boy's own wand, will have become the true Master. And in the case with any house-elf and Master, the Elder Wand will not set out to kill it's own Master. Again, Lord Voldemort's mistake," Dumbledore smiled, as Severus made an attempt to interrupt, "He overlooks any possibility that someone else could be the wand's true Master. And once again, he will pay for that single miscalculation."

Severus said nothing, but looked back upon behind the threshold, so that he was watching as Harry made his way through the Forbidden Forest, and saw, with a shock, four other people walking on both sides of him. "She's..she's with him.."

"Yes," said Albus, now meeting Severus's eyes, "Harry has the Ressurection Stone. He's used it, and brought back both his parents, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black temporarily, to aid him as he makes his way into the Forest, to face Voldemort for one last time. I think it's fitting, Severus, for him to see his mother again. After all, she is the reason he lives, the reason he fights; In that aspect, Severus, you and he share one thing in common."

Silence engulfed Severus again, as he continued to stare down, saw as Harry Potter stepped out from under the Invisibilty Cloak that had been his father's, confront Voldemort, and drop the Ressurection Stone; The four invisible figures disappeared as it hit the ground. With a lump in his throat, Severus watched as Voldemort raised his wand, and the Green light hit Harry's forearm. He saw the light in the boy's eyes fade, the emerald green he had been so used to seeing, in both Harry, and Lily's eyes, drown in a deeper, brighter green, turn black, and flicker like wind on a flame.

Part of him watched, half-concious, half-oblivious, as he watched the boy he had sworn his life to protect, the spawn of the man he had hated, and yet the child of the only woman he had ever loved, fall to the ground, still, lifeless. Turning away, he knew he could not look back again; He had never wished death upon the boy, however much he had annoyed, disliked, though never depising, him. He looked up, and saw that Albus had tears trickling down his old, wrinkled cheeks, his eyes still stuck on the scene below, as if unable to look away. Then, a split-second later, his head lifted, and the tears were gone.

"I must go and see to Harry. He will be arriving here any moment now."

Severus nodded, "I shall find you again, Dumbledore?"

"Oh, definately, Severus. I shall like to think that I, sooner rather than later, shall find you."

And with that, he was gone.

Severus watched him go, and could not supress a small smile; Dumbledore was still the same old Dumbledore, as always. Nothing had changed about the older man, nothing ever had, and yet something seemed to have died away in him - perhaps it was the lies, the misguided truth, he had given, had told, that he wanted to make-up for; One thing was for sure - he _did_ have much to make up for.

"Severus?"

Not expecting Dumbledore back so soon, Severus jumped somewhat, and turned to face the person who had spoken his name, as he knew that voice could not possibly belong to Albus Dumbledore, but who, in fact, it _did_ belong to.

Before he was even completly turned, he knew it was no lie, no hallucination; yet, he could hardly comprehend it, could hardly take it for the truth, because he hadn't seen those eyes, and that hair, for so long, for seventeen long years, and never would he have believed he'd see them again, see the person for which he had dedicated his life; He was staring again at Lily Evans, her smile as big, and as sincere as he had always remembered.

"Lily.."

He realized, with unashamed satisfaction, that he was crying. Though unbidden, he didn't dare wipe the tears away, or else pretend the shake in his voice were something else; he let them fall, let himself choke up, because it was something he had needed to do for years now, something he had needed since he had first heard of her death; There was no point being ashamed, not when it was for her his tears fell.

"Thank you, Severus," Lily walked slowly up to him, her face still lit with that billion-dollar smile, and Severus felt as if his knees would give way under his weight. "Thank you for protecting my son. Thank you."

Severus tried to say "you're welcome", but the words seemed foreign on his tounge, and he could not form the words. Instead, his knees crumped, unable to hold his body weight, and he hit the surface upon which he had been lying, and realized, with a jolt, that it was hard ground, complete with grass, and leaves, cement breaking what would have been an eternall fall. "I'm...so...sorry..I...sorry.."

Wordlessly, Lily bent down in front of him, her knees landing, seemingly graceful, upon the unforgiving ground. She looked so beautiful, even more beautiful than he could ever remember, and it was then that he knew, she would never be taken from him again. She lifted her hand, her nails long, yet so ginger, as they fell upon his skin. His heart beat seemed to race, as her hand lay upon his face, and her eyes searched his face hungrily, as though searching for something she could see from behind the core of his eyes. "I know you are, Sev. I know. It wasn't your fault. I've never blamed you, I've never blamed Harry; I blame him, because he was the one who sought out to do it. And you should know, Severus, you had no reason to dedicate your life to me, or that of my son. You had your own wonderful life to fufill, and I had no right to take that away from you."

"You.. you didn't." The whisper was so low, Severus himself barely caught it. Had he not felt his own clips move, heard his own, soft, gentle voice radiate off his ears. But he knew she caught it, because something like sincere regret flashed in her eyes, an emotion he hoped he would never see in her eyes again. He never liked to see her cry, upset; It tore him into tiny pieces, little shards that would never matter.

"No, I did, Sev. I did. By protecting my son, you put your own life on hold, and you never got to live it the way you wanted."

"Lily.. you never took my life away from me. You were - are - my life. The way I wanted life was with you. If I couldn't have that, I would have it with the closest thing I had of you. I've finally seen what I couldn't see before; your son for who he is, not who I condemed him to be. I must say.. he is a very cheeky child."

Lily laughed. Nothing warmed his heart more than her laugh; in spite of himself, he smiled, and when she finished, she wiped a tear away from her right eye. "I know. I think he got that from me. You know how I used to say very.. _cheeky_.. things to Professor Slughorn." She laughed again, and it made Severus's insides burst, his stomach fill with butterflies.. and then it stopped. "But I must thank you again, Severus.. you ensured my only son.. my little boy.. stayed alive. I can't offer you more gratitude than words can describe."

"I did what I had to, Lily. I knew that's what you wanted. You wouldn't have wanted it any other way. And besides.. I've never wanted your son.. dead.." Severus replied, his eyes now staring at the ground. "He, in a way, became my refuge; he was the only reminder that I had of you."

He heard Lily sniffle, and then say, "You'd never given up, had you?"

Severus looked up, and found her eyes, and saw no pity or remorse in them, but truth. "No," he whispered. "Always, Lily. Always. Even if I knew it was hopeless."

She didn't reply for a moment. It seemed she was on the verge of tears, or else trying to find her voice again. When she did, she continued to stare into his eyes, and the intensity of his gaze was so strong, yet he could not turn away. "It was never hopeless. We just went our seperate ways. I know, _I know_, that feelings will never be harbored betwen you, James, Sirius, and Remus - that much is evident. But I do hope, that you can all mature up, so you don't make even the afterlife continue this pointless grudge. Should Harry join us tonight, as I know he someday will, I'm sure you know he wouldn't want it. And neither do I."

There was a moment's silence, in which Severus had stared back at the threshold, searching for any sign of movement, any sign of awakening, from the boy lying on the ground in the Forest, but there was none, so he turned his gaze back to Lily, who, he saw, had been staring through the veil-like curtain too.

"Do you know where we are, Sev?"

The question took Severus by surprise; he hadn't looked around to see where they had been. And as he did so now, it hit him quickly, as he stared at the broken house, the bended gate, the snow that covered the ground, with only small patches of ground unvacated, and the statue that stood upon the stone platform just in front of the gate, with the sign that held many signatures, ones wishing her son, Harry, the utmost of hope, the hope to finally finish the one no one else could...

"Godric's Hollow..." Severus replied finally, after surveying every area of the premises, "This is where..."

"Where I died," Lily said the words he could not, and a small frown lit her features, "yes. Interesting, is it not, that we're both at the place that seperated us forever, but now we are joined here? Curiously, the place that once tore us apart, has bonded us again. Forever this time, Sev. Eternity is forever, never in the living world, only the afterlife. So I think that hope, that we would once again see eachother, has come true."

He was amazed, even then, at how she put her words, formed sentences, that not even he could; she had that way about her, as he so often saw in her son, about saying things no one else could express. That was one of the things he liked about her.

"Harry's here."

Severus looked up at her once again, and saw she was looking sideways, at something just to their right. Severus imitated her, and saw the familar station of King's Cross, saw Albus Dumbledore, along with Lily's son, sitting on a bench not even 20 feet from them. Harry didn't seem to notice them.

"Come on."

Suddenly, he felt her hand in his, and she was dragging him up, and the protest he was going to make was lost, as her hand encircled, and embraced, his. Together, silently, they walked to the place where Harry sat, and when he finally looked up, did he appear to have registered that they were there.

"Mum.. professor.."

Lily smiled, but Severus's mouth curled into a slight sneer. "Hello, Potter. I don't think the word 'professor' is appropriate now, since we are both currently sitting in the afterlife and I am no longer your teacher."

The boy grinned, "I know that, Sir. Just thought I'd get into the moment."

"Harry, you're too considerate for you're own good!" Lily laughed, as she swept down onto the blank seat beside Harry, and stared at his features that so resembled his father's. "But you really need to stop those cheeky little retorts you give.."

"I got it from the best, didn't I?" Harry asked, a knowing grin forming on his face, as he looked past his mother and into Severus's face. "I learned a lot from you, too, sir. I just wanted to thank you..."

Severus sighed. "I suppose a 'you're welcome' would be appropriate here. But don't get too comfortable with it, Potter, because you won't hear me say this a lot. It's just because your mother's here."

Lily laughed again, a loud, yet soft, sweet laugh. How he had missed that laugh. And the fact that he had made it happen pleased him more than anything. She had cared..

And silence ensued again, everyone lost in the moment that had been a pleasant one, and then Lily placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You have to be getting back now, Harry. You have your whole life ahead of you.."

Harry looked at the floor, "I know. It's just.. I'm actually happy here... with all of you..."

"You mean my presense hasn't angered you, Potter, so that you want to badly hex me and save the remnants?" Severus asked, a slight smirk developing on his face at the look Potter gave him.

"No!" Harry replied indignantly, "I know now, sir. And.. I'm sorry... for the way I.. I mean..." He flushed, and his cheeks went red with embarrassment, or the unability to express much else, and yet Severus knew, without having to know..

"I know." He replied curtly, "And I'm sorry. But you give me anymore cheek, and I just might take it back."

Harry smirked, "I won't. Let you hear me, anyway."

Severus's lip curled, "Fair enough."

"Severus, have you finished your rant to my son?" Lily laughed through tears, as she clutched her right side.

"Your wish is my command," Severus replied, just as Lily stood up. She smiled serenly at him before facing her son again. "You really had better be heading back now, Harry."

Harry nodded, though he didn't look entirely pleased about going back to the other world. But he stood, and the white mist began to consume him, as Dumbledore also stood, and they watched him fade away. He gave them all one last, fleeting smile, before departing. Immediately after, Severus glanced back to the threshold, and saw that Harry had indeed reawakened, as had Voldemort. A hand on his shoulder brought hin back, and he was gazing into Lily's face even before his eyes had left the floor.

"It's nice, seeing you again, Severus."

Severus felt a sting behind his eyes, burning at first, then feeling as though fire were swarming around his eyes. He nodded, and she knew how he felt, even if he wouldn't say it, because his expression said it all, and the loss of words he expressed showed just how much he cared. She smiled, removing her hand from his shoulder, and in turn taking it into her own, so that her warm skin engulfed his, and his heart's cold barrier broke, and in turn rose the warmness he hadn't experienced in so long - happiness, genuine happiness -, and it was this, being here with her, feeling her touch, gazing into her emerald green eyes that brought it back. Moments before, he had been just a pool of broken pieces, broken shards of glass, too small to matter, too hard to put back together. But she had.

"Come on. Let's watch Harry finish him."

Together, they moved silently back to the benches, and if he awoke, and found this was all a dream, he knew he would be able to make it through the next day, and the day after that, just because he got to see her face, see her eyes, hear her voice - be with her again. He had come to her in pieces, she had put them back together, like a simple puzzle without the slightest effort, as if they belonged together naturally and without question, and she had, once again, completed him. Once again, she had made him something he never thought he would be again, had never been even after she had died, and never thought he would be again:

He was whole.

Fin.

Based on the song "Pieces" by Red, and the music video I did for Severus/Lily. If you've never heard the song, please listen to it - it's so beautiful, so enchanting. Sorry if I made Severus OOC, but I wanted him to act how I think he would have acted, upon seeing Lily. I don't know if this is how he would have reacted had he seen Harry along with her, but I'd have to believe he would've. At least for Lily.


End file.
